One of the USP of NoSQL databases is their ability to run on 'commodity hardware/ machines/ servers/ clusters'. So what is commodity hardware?
My desktop PC is powered by an Intel i5 4th gen processor, has 16 GB (initially 8, upgraded later to 16) of RAM and 1 TB HDD. The hardware is reliable and affordable, even though it was built by an assembler. It is easy to upgrade when required - like I did with the RAM. I have no vendor buy in; my first preference for an upgrade would be the current vendor, but it is not necessary for me to buy from him. I am also not too concerned about the make of the components - after all the industry has matured to an extent where there is not much to distinguish between different makes.
The same would be the case with a branded desktop that you may have bought. You may have vendor buy in because of the warranty, but nobody really can stop you from adding memory or storage or a game card, or maybe even replacing the motherboard and the CPU.
This essentially is then a commodity machine:
Affordable, reliable and upgrade-able
No (or limited) vendor buy in
A commodity cluster is made up of commodity machines working in parallel to increase computing power. Serious supercomputers have been built this way; the nitty-gritty of building and maintaining clusters are known. In the NoSQL context, clusters increase performance and provide scalability. Add machines to the cluster if demand increases; maybe even remove a machine if the demand reduces and do these without disrupting services.
A start-up from Bangalore has built a data center using commodity hardware. A case study worth reading.
My desktop PC is powered by an Intel i5 4th gen processor, has 16 GB (initially 8, upgraded later to 16) of RAM and 1 TB HDD. The hardware is reliable and affordable, even though it was built by an assembler. It is easy to upgrade when required - like I did with the RAM. I have no vendor buy in; my first preference for an upgrade would be the current vendor, but it is not necessary for me to buy from him. I am also not too concerned about the make of the components - after all the industry has matured to an extent where there is not much to distinguish between different makes.
The same would be the case with a branded desktop that you may have bought. You may have vendor buy in because of the warranty, but nobody really can stop you from adding memory or storage or a game card, or maybe even replacing the motherboard and the CPU.
This essentially is then a commodity machine:
Affordable, reliable and upgrade-able
No (or limited) vendor buy in
A commodity cluster is made up of commodity machines working in parallel to increase computing power. Serious supercomputers have been built this way; the nitty-gritty of building and maintaining clusters are known. In the NoSQL context, clusters increase performance and provide scalability. Add machines to the cluster if demand increases; maybe even remove a machine if the demand reduces and do these without disrupting services.
A start-up from Bangalore has built a data center using commodity hardware. A case study worth reading.
